


summer downpour

by neverwhere (nekrateholic)



Category: VIXX
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-01-16
Packaged: 2019-03-05 19:05:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13394283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nekrateholic/pseuds/neverwhere
Summary: Taekwoon has met someone. The entire world seems to have forgotten.





	summer downpour

**Author's Note:**

> a.k.a. in which Taekwoon spends 2k being [that david tennant meme](http://replygif.net/i/127.gif)
> 
> (inspired by [this song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccKV1X9uyP4))

Taekwoon wakes up to the sound of raindrops hitting his window. It sounds like a summer storm, the ones hitting quickly, drowning everything in an hour or so and then disappearing like they were never there in the first place. Except, there is no thunder. It’s not a storm, either - it’s just rain. It feels like it’s been going on for a while.

When he finally drags himself out of bed and into his kitchen there is an unfinished cup of tea on the counter. Taekwoon stares at it for a few seconds, considering. In the end, he shrugs and takes it to sink, to hopefully be washed before the next time Hongbin comes to visit and nags him about the piles of dirty dishes in his kitchen.

It’s only later that he realizes - there isn't, never has been even a single tea bag in his house.

*

_Taekwoon looks down. He’s been staring up at the sky, blinking raindrops out of his eyes for who knows how long now. The man in front of him is just as wet as Taekwoon is - which, considering how light the rain is, means he’s probably been out as long as Taekwoon has been, too. The man is smiling._

_“You enjoy the rain.” He tells Taekwoon. His voice seems awed, somehow. It’s not a question, but Taekwoon feels the need to answer anyway._

_“I do.”_

_The man beams at him. “All the people I've seen here hide when it’s raining.” The smile in his voice has dimmed to something smaller, sadder. “They take out their big umbrellas or hide inside buildings. There’s always rain in the movies - if it’s not the foolproof sign that someone is sad it’s the “dancing in the rain.” They say that, but out in the real world, they all hide.” He looks up to the sky and Taekwoon finds himself following the path of a raindrop running down the stranger’s throat. When he meets Taekwoon’s eyes again, his are calm, resigned. “It gets lonely, sometimes.”_

_Maybe it’s the quiet of the park, maybe it’s the light but insistent rain, maybe it’s the moment itself - Taekwoon wants to tell this man everything. A thousand things battle in his throat. Yes, it does. Yes, I've felt it, yes, I love the feeling of raindrops kissing my palm when I raise it up, yes, it reminds me I’m_ alive, _yes -_

_“I’m not hiding,” he says aloud. The smile is back on the stranger’s face._

_He offers Taekwoon a hand. “No. No, you're not.”_

The image of the man’s smile is slipping away, fading, as is the feeling of rain on his skin, or is it fingertips? There is a name, it’s _right there_ and he tries to concentrate, to make his muddled brain _hold on_ , if he could just -

Taekwoon wakes up to the sound of raindrops hitting his window.

_*_

Someone has flipped the calendar on his fridge to August 24th and the last time Taekwoon checked, it was still the 22nd. He absently flips it to 23rd but when he checks his phone for missed texts later, “August 24th” stares back at him from his screen.

Taekwoon frowns as he flips the calendar back to the 24th. Sanghyuk always makes fun of him for not keeping track of time when he’s off work, he’d never live it down if Sanghyuk knew about this.

In the end, Taekwoon makes himself a cup of coffee, shrugs on a jacket and takes his coffee to the porch. The rain is still going hard, the smell of it strong in the air and Taekwoon smiles as he plops down in a relatively dry chair, watching the water flow down the street just outside his fence. He’s always loved the rain, the sound of it, the feel of it - he’d go out right now, if it wasn’t for the coffee. Watered down coffee is never a nice experience.

It’s weird, with the amount of rain it should be at least cloudy, dark, but the sun is shining bright through all the raindrops. It’s like the sky can’t decide if it’s crying out of joy or sadness.

The coffee is still too hot and it burns Taekwoon’s throat. More than the flash of pain, however, he feels the ghost of a hand on his throat, a smile, a whisper he can’t really decipher.

For a second he’s not on his front porch, he’s not in his own _house_ , he’s somewhere else and there is _someone_ else with him and -

The coffee burns and Taekwoon chokes on it, then chokes out a, “ _Hakyeon._ ”

*

_They’re under the shelter of a coffee shop, outside but not directly under the rain._

_“I thought you didn’t hide from rain,” Hakyeon says solemnly. There is a smile tugging at his lips, though._

_“I’m not hiding,” Taekwoon grins, holding his cup for Hakyeon to see, like he wasn’t there when Taekwoon bought it. “I like having coffee when it’s raining but I hate watered down coffee. Even if it’s rainwater doing it.”_

_Hakyeon tilts his head. “You could always keep the lid on?”_

_“I could,” Taekwoon agrees. “It would keep it warm longer, too, but I like the smell of coffee mixed with the smell of rain.”_

_“You’re so particular,” Hakyeon says finally, fully smiling now. “Do you have to hurt yourself with it, though?” He laughs when Taekwoon hisses at his burned tongue. Hakyeon’s fingers run down his throat, from his jaw to his collarbones, and suddenly the burn of the coffee is gone. Taekwoon takes a sharp breath. “I still don’t get why you’re drinking coffee so late, either.” Hakyeon’s hand falls back at his side and his smile is softer now._

_“Three A.M. is early morning, technically.” He lifts the cup to Hakyeon’s face again. “I’m going to need a lot of those to make up for the lack of sleep.”_

_Hakyeon frowns. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have kept you for so long.”_

_“It’s fine, really,” Taekwoon says quickly, before Hakyeon has time to convince himself he needs to leave. Or before Taekwoon says something stupid. Like, “It was nice being lonely together, at least for a while.”_

_Hakyeon’s smile feels like a rainbow._

*

Taekwoon rushes inside, takes his phone from the kitchen counter and hurries to type in his lock code. When he checks his messages, there are no new ones but there is one, opened, from Jaehwan with yesterday’s date - August 23rd. The missing day. He’s asking if Taekwoon wants to have breakfast with him. There is no reply, but there is an outgoing call from Taekwoon a few minutes after the text was received. He dials Jaehwan’s number.

“Did we have breakfast yesterday?” Taekwoon asks as soon as he picks up.

“Not even a good morning? How are you, Jaehwan?” Jaehwan grumbles. Taekwoon taps his fingers on the counter impatiently. “Yeah, we did,” Jaehwan says eventually. “You were with this… Uh, I don’t remember his name. I don’t remember a lot about him, actually, I was a little preoccupied. But I think he was hot?” he offers in the end.

Taekwoon says a quick “Thanks,” and hangs up before Jaehwan has time to babble about how rude he is again.

As soon as he does, though, Taekwoon realizes he’s doesn't even remember they had breakfast, let alone _where._ He contemplates just winging it, there aren't that many places they frequent frequent for food - but the thought of possibly getting it wrong and making a fool of himself is more uncomfortable than the prospect of speaking to Jaehwan again.

In the end, he asks over a text and Jaehwan’s reply contains a lot of dumb pouty emojis but the important information is there, so Taekwoon counts it as a win. Even more so because it’s none of their usual places, so winging it really wouldn’t have worked. He tries to remember something, _anything,_  about the breakfast but the most he manages to come up with are Jaehwan’s twinkly eyes as he flirts with someone. Hopefully someone who works at the café - that way the chance they remember them is bigger.

The rain is still as strong, pouring, like it wants to wash the streets or the city, no, wash the world clean of everything. Taekwoon watches for a second from the shelter of his front porch, considering. He does own an umbrella, but even with rain this strong, just the thought of the umbrella sitting under his coat rack feels like betrayal, somehow.

The rain calms to a drizzle as soon as Taekwoon takes a step out in the open.

*

“Hey, welcome back again.” The barista smiles when he sees Taekwoon behind the counter. His deep voice tugs at Taekwoon’s memory but nothing really surfaces in the end. “I’m sorry, we’re kinda full right now because of the rain.”

Taekwoon forces a polite smile, waving a hand dismissively. “It’s fine. I’ll take a latte to go, then.” He takes a second to consider how to phrase his next words so he doesn’t sound like a lunatic.

It takes him too long to come up with something, apparently, because soon the barista offers him his coffee, smiling. “How’s your friend doing?”

“My friend?” Taekwoon asks, momentarily stunned. This is his opportunity. “Which one?”

“The one you were here with yesterday?” The barista looks a little confused, maybe a little flushed, too but Taekwoon chooses not to notice that.

“Which one?” He repeats instead.

The barista blinks at him. “Uh, weren’t you just with him though? I don’t remember seeing a third person. It was just you and your friend with the,” Now he’s very obviously blushing, and Taekwoon is one hundred percent sure who Jaehwan was flirting with in his fragmented memories. Jaehwan has that effect on people. “With the nose,” the barista finishes lamely. Taekwoon nods.

“I’ll tell him you said hi,” he tells the barista, who's still blushing, but Taekwoon’s attention is already elsewhere.

The facts are these: Taekwoon met someone on August 22nd, spent the night with him, possibly the next day too. His name is Hakyeon. And the most important fact of all - no one remembers any of this.

Taekwoon’s feet take him to the park closest to his house before he really knows he wants to go there. It’s empty, sans for a teenage couple hidden under a tree, away from the rain. Taekwoon walks past them and chooses a bench out in the open, no shelter from the rain whatsoever. For a second the scene changes - it’s raining again but it’s dark, empty, completely empty this time. Taekwoon is watching the rain and there is someone watching Taekwoon, someone whose smile feels like a rainbow and who looks so, so at home out in the rain. Taekwoon blinks and it’s noon again. He’s in the park alone with his latte, save for the teenage couple trying to be inconspicuous about making out under that tree.

He closes his eyes and tries to will his memory to cooperate.

*

_“Don’t you have anywhere to be?” Hakyeon asks, concerned. It’s almost dark again, they’ve been walking around for the better part of the afternoon. Taekwoon showed him all the places in town that he loves and Hakyeon in turn treated him to one more coffee and a few cups of tea (“Because that much coffee is unhealthy”, Hakyeon insisted)._

_Taekwoon kicks at the ground absently, “I could ask you the same.”_

_“I do,” Hakyeon replies and Taekwoon kicks a little harder, a little angrier. “But I like being here more.”_

_They’re back at the bench they met at._ I like it too _, the words are on the tip of his tongue but they won’t come out, no matter how hard he tries to make them. He sits at the bench instead and Hakyeon sits next to him, fingers dancing on Taekwoon’s thigh._

_“What if I told you you won’t remember me tomorrow?” Hakyeon asks quietly._

_Taekwoon stiffens. “Why wouldn’t I?”_

_“Imagine you won’t.” Hakyeon insists, “what would you do?”_

_What would he do? “I’d ask you to come home with me,” he says eventually, regretting it almost immediately._

_But Hakyeon’s eyes are wide and expectant, no trace of mockery in them. “Will you?”_

_Taekwoon blinks at him. “Will I forget you?”_

_“Will you ask me to come home with you,” Hakyeon corrects, his voice is a little breathless, laced with anticipation. Anticipation looks good on him, Taekwoon decides._

_“Yeah. Yeah, I will.”_

*

“I thought you didn’t like drinking coffee in the rain,” a voice says. When Taekwoon looks up, his breath catches in his throat.

“This one is special,” he mutters eventually.

“The coffee or the rain?” Hakyeon asks as he sits next to him. Taekwoon feels phantom fingers dance up his thigh but when he turns to look, Hakyeon’s hands are resting in his lap, clasped.

Taekwoon tries to find his words, something that wouldn’t break the fragile moment that has formed somehow. In the end, he says, “Maybe both?”

Hakyeon laughs softly.

*

_Hakyeon’s skin smells like rain and Taekwoon buries his face in his neck. He’s falling apart, hot, burning and Hakyeon is so unfairly calm, cool to the touch._

_He laughs when Taekwoon tries to cover his face with his hands, wraps his beautiful fingers around Taekwoon’s wrists and keeps them spread. He gets close, close, closer until all Taekwoon can see is Hakyeon’s eyes, the bridge of his nose._

_“Will you remember me tomorrow?”_

_“Yes,” Taekwoon breathes out, because how can he not?_

_Something flickers in Hakyeon’s eyes, something so unbearably sad and Taekwoon opens his mouth to question it, to do_ something _, but Hakyeon covers it with his own, and suddenly coherence seems like such a hard thing to achieve._

*

“You remember me,” Hakyeon states. It’s not a question. It takes a few seconds for Taekwoon to nod, to shake off the fragments of the memory and to remember how speech worked - he can feel his face burning.

“I don’t remember everything,” he says quietly, “but I remember you. I looked for you.”

Hakyeon’s face dims. “I know. I saw. I tried to… wash you away, I think. From my mind, from my body. I tried to be the sad, rain cliché.” He laughs, but it sounds lifeless, more than anything. “But I remember. I remember everything.”

“The rain,” Taekwoon says suddenly. The thought has been niggling his brain all morning, forming quietly, surely, against all rational thinking. “You’re connected to the rain somehow.”

Hakyeon laughs again, but there’s nothing happy about it this time. “I guess you could say I’m rain itself. Fickle, annoying. Something people like to hide from.”

“I’m not hiding,” Taekwoon says, and it all feels so familiar.

“No,” Hakyeon smiles - it seems real, this time. “No, you’re not.”


End file.
